Why there is no need to fear AI

Technology is largely intended to make our lives easier. They made our washing machines automatic so that we no longer had to stand over them. Booking holidays has become something you can do on the screen of your phone while taking a coffee break. Even the weekly shop can be initiated through an app.

And most of us no longer visit a high street bank to await the humiliation of having a loan request turned down, watching as your credit rating plummets in the process.

For most of us, life is a lot better thanks to technology. Even driving is easier, with more technology operating in our vehicles than ever before.

So, why do we fear the very same technology that we know makes life that bit more bearable? And why do people still fear the idea of information being collected?

Data is a valuable resource; it helps technology learn to be better and target the right people with the right services. Targeted advertising means that the adverts you inevitably see are at least related to stuff you have shown an interest in. Business/strategy manager and consultant Tom Little said in 2019 that, if you go online, you are going to see adverts anyway, so they might as well be relevant. And yet people fear that we are living in a real-life “1984,” with Big Brother watching us.

Data is a valuable resource; it helps technology learn to be better and target the right people with the right services

Peter Harrison

The truth is that we are monitored more now than we used to be and, if we do not like it, it is kind of difficult to avoid, unless you pay cash for everything and never use the internet. If you do not want to see adverts online, you can invest in an ad blocker.

But consider this, when you are using a music app, it will suggest other music you might like. The TV programs you watch help the likes of Netflix, YouTube and the rest to make other recommendations to further your viewing pleasure — and if you do not like the look of what is suggested, then do not watch it.

Technology and data collection is everywhere, although it is not as widely used as you might think.

In 2022, I went to the annual Autodesk conference, where the software giant shows off its latest services for the design, manufacturing and construction industries. One of the features on display was a bridge made entirely from recycled materials, which contained a network of cables, wires and sensors. The purpose of the bridge was to collect data on the stresses it was exposed to, helping improve the way such structures are built.

Equally, sensors are being placed into existing buildings and those that are under construction. The data being collected will help with efficiencies and the ongoing strength of a structure, or lack thereof, and the information being gathered could effectively revolutionize the buildings in which we live, work and shop.

This is important information that can help reduce costs, while improving what is being created and, in some cases, even advising against some of the more ambitious projects.

As Autodesk CEO and President Andrew Anagnost said at this year’s event, there is every possibility that artificial intelligence will, in some cases, advise against creating very tall or very long structures. He told Arab News last month: “I don’t think giga-projects are going to go away … but I do think that more often than not AI is going to advise against these projects.”

However, contrary to popular belief, there is an enormous amount of data that is being collected in these industries and is still going to waste.

Autodesk noted that its architecture, engineering and construction clients quadrupled their data storage from 0.9 terabytes in 2017 to 3.5TB in 2021. But according to the investment banking firm FMI, 95.5 percent of the data that is being gathered by architecture, engineering and construction firms is not being used.

Autodesk is currently mapping vast amounts of what it calls 3D data that previously did not exist.

We have known for years of the existence of ancient artifacts, but surprisingly few of these objects have any tangible data stored about them other than two-dimensional photographs.

The more information gathered, the greater the learning curve for the AI involved in future construction projects

Peter Harrison

Design is nothing new. It has been around for millions of years, but very little information has been collected on it. The more information gathered, the greater the learning curve for the AI involved in future construction projects.

Currently, AI is only as good as the information it receives and it is project-specific. AI is already used in multiple industries, even in banking, but only under certain parameters, such as the level of risk in investments. The more information it receives, the more effective AI will be at solving problems.

The concern should not be about AI but who controls the data it sees and the people who send it — that is where the power lies.

Of course, not all technology is being used for good.

In April this year, The Guardian newspaper reported that Israel had been using AI to identify and target tens of thousands of people it believed had Hamas connections. But the information gathered by AI was also used to decide where to drop bombs, razing houses to the ground, often with their occupants inside — irrespective of whether or not they had Hamas connections.

Arguably, AI could eventually be used for societal purposes. It could assess the likely outcomes of military action and, if that were the case, maybe one day show us that war is costly and solves little. Ideally, we could jump straight to the compromises that most wars end in.

And if the adverts I see tell me about boats, travel and food, then the advertisers have got it right.

• Peter Harrison is a senior editor at Arab News in the Dubai office. He has covered the Middle East for more than a decade. X: @PhotoPJHarrison